Whatever Comes Next, Jeremy Lin Is Ready For It

TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 8: Jeremy Lin #7 of the Atlanta Hawks dribbles the ball as Kyle Lowry #7 of the Toronto Raptors defends during the first half of an NBA game at Scotiabank Arena on January 8, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

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Tuesday night in Toronto, an injury to Kevin Huerter opened up a starting opportunity for Jeremy Lin, his first of the season with the Atlanta Hawks.

Naturally, this being Lin, the results were precisely in line with the elite level he plays at when given a chance to feel the game and mold his approach to it — 20 points on ten shots, nine assists, and a challenge of the vaunted Raptors on the road.

"I feel like when you play a lot more minutes you get more rhythm, you can read the game a little bit more," Lin said Wednesday night in Brooklyn, prior to Atlanta's game against the Nets. "You get more opportunities. I'm going out there every night trying to do my best, and some nights it is what it is, but I think it's just the flow or the rhythm... Maybe the way it works in terms of just having the ball constantly, feeling it, touching it. I don't know, but I just try to do my best in whatever role I get, I'm handed. I've been fortunate to have some big breakout games in my time."

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The guard best known for his rise off the bench back in 2011-12 with the Knicks certainly has had some big breakout games, as he put it, and that's continued since he left New York. Tuesday was merely the latest one — back in his Houston tenure, for instance, an injury to James Harden thrust him into the Harden role, and 38 points against the San Antonio Spurs followed.

Interestingly, this came not from an injury to the man he's backing up, Trae Young, but rather from the two of them playing in tandem. Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce paired them in both the third and fourth quarters Wednesday night in Brooklyn as well.

"A lot of it was a result of yesterday," Pierce said following the game. "And anytime we get an opportunity to do so, we want to do it."

What makes it notable, beyond just the additional way this allows Atlanta another look, is what it may mean to teams considering a trade for Lin, in the final year of his contract. Over the years, he's typically been more effective in that primary ball handler role, and he remains a logical option for teams like the Magic, the Pistons, even the Suns if they ever want to get around to adding a legitimate point guard.

But Lin can also help teams in need of a combo guard, someone who can space the floor. He's finishing at the most efficient level of his career, making nearly 56 percent of his twos, and is sinking more than 36 percent of his threes, even after a recent 2-for-14 stretch.

The problem may well be that Lin is too valuable, even for a Hawks team clearly playing for the long-term, in the development of Trae Young. He serves as Young's backup and mentor in one, and as the Hawks manage Young's minutes down the stretch, he'll be ever more important to them simply as a necessary complement in both ball handling and the player Pierce uses to teach Young how to do things the right way.

"I talk about Jeremy Lin being the stabilizer," Pierce said. "It was great to have them start, both those guys last night and play well together last night. But I always have Jeremy kind of in the back pocket. If you feel like Trey's doing too much, trying too much, or in a bad situation. You can always just play Jeremy, and you can always play them together. I can always play them together."

Where that leaves Lin, he doesn't know. He's played for seven NBA teams already, all by age 30. So he's decided to just keep playing and let what is beyond his control happen.

"You know, nine years in, and so I'm going to give you a very stock answer, but it's very true like, you control what you can control," Lin said. "And I've been in every type of situation. I've been cut, I've been traded, I've been signed to great situations and gotten hurt, so really, it's one day at a time, whatever's in front of me. I mean, there's no point in thinking about it, or worrying about it to be honest."

Especially when Lin keeps showing that whether starting or coming off the bench, playing point or off the ball, he's as valuable an NBA player as he's ever been.